It's a free market, guys. If you don't like Opera post-version 12, don't use it. It's the exact same for any other commodity. I'm happy with Firefox, and if you aren't satisfied with anything else, try developing your own browser.

I don't like this attitude. I've been in and out of Opera since the 10.00 days, though I have been using it alot more heavily on my mobile devices. It is fantastic that they supported platforms like Symbian and Windows Mobile right up until the very end. However, I can see why they're trimming down their product lineup and removing alot of the excess.

As for ditching Presto, yes it was a smooth engine while it was relevant, but the fact remains that web developers don't subsidise web standards these days. They make sure sites will run on Chrome, Firefox and IE, everything else is not mission-critical. I also wonder whether Presto development was hitting a brick wall, and that the developers weren't able to adapt new technologies to it.

I can definitely see a future when the desktop version of Opera will cease to exist as a fully-fledged browser. I can also see the canning of any other browser versions they maintain that are based on the Chromium engine. However, the technologies they maintain for Opera Mini compression remain a valuable asset, and I can see that product being the main focus going forward. One of Mini's strengths is that it is based on Java, and that means it can be adapted for a diverse range of operating systems (heck, I've even got it running on my PSP). I can see Opera Mini being adapted for the desktop, all the core mobile OSes, other obsolete and obscure tech, embedded systems...you name it.

Today I use Firefox on both my Linux desktop, and my Android phone. Given how extendible and flexible it is, even with the Gecko engine I can't justify using Opera with Presto today. There are too many compatibility issues that would persist even if development was continued. Yes Gecko is slower, but computers keep getting faster so I don't see it as a huge issue.

Those are just my thoughts on the matters...